New Hampshire = Bangladesh

A fascinating map in which U.S. states are renamed for countries whose GDP they most closely emulate. Lots of fun.

[Via Bryan Caplan.]

UPDATE: If my remembery were all it ought to be, I'd have tipped Hit and Run's self-reflexive hat to Katherine Mangu-Ward, who blogged this very same thing back in June. Well, it was lots of fun then and still is now!

Comments

Franklin Harris | January 17, 2008, 4:34am | #

Why yes, as a matter of fact, sometimes I do feel like I live in Iran.

paulie | January 17, 2008, 6:56am | #

Franklin, you beat me to it.

Imam Roy Moore puts it on the table.

Mullah Troy King seals the deal.

SIV | January 17, 2008, 7:12am | #

We in Switzerland propose an embargo on water to Iran.

diakron | January 17, 2008, 7:29am | #

I can live with being in the Netherlands. Heck, we have plenty of "Dutch" around already.

Sulla | January 17, 2008, 7:34am | #

Definitely very interesting. I didn't realize DC was so high -#36, $99 Billion, same as New Zealand?

Just for s&g, here are some approximate numbers the US territories:

Puerto Rico would be comparable to Utah/Peru, with $75 billion.

Guam - $2.5 billion, comparable to Moldova
USVI - $1.2 billion, comparable to Sierra Leone
American Samoa - $0.5 billion, comparable to The Gambia

leviramsey | January 17, 2008, 7:39am | #

This link was posted by Katherine, back in June...

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/121064.html

Still an amazing (if slightly out-of-date) map, most of the other maps from that blog are great, too (I subscribed to it after reading the original).

Someone Who Doesn't Want to Lose His Job | January 17, 2008, 7:46am | #

Born and raised in Algeria!

Currently living in exile in Austria.

Lava | January 17, 2008, 8:18am | #

It would be fascinating to revisit this map every few years to see whether they still match up.. probably 10 or 20 years ago china and india probably equalled one of the states

Ironchef | January 17, 2008, 8:28am | #

SC = Singapore. Ha! My home state matches up against a city. Ewww.

Don K | January 17, 2008, 8:36am | #

I agree it's a cool map, but I have a hard time believing the underlying data. As I commented at the time on Strange Maps, I had a hard time believing the 7th largest state (Michigan) was 20th in GDP, so I took the Census population estimates for 7/1/06 and computed my own per-capitas. If the absolute GDPs are correct, then Michigan has the lowest per-capita GDP in the country, at $20,800, compared with Mississippi at $34,400 and Arkansas at $44,100. I know times have been a little rough around here lately, but they're not that bad!

John-David | January 17, 2008, 8:44am | #

Living in Australia would be way cooler than being stuck in Ohio.

Episiarch | January 17, 2008, 8:46am | #

So Michigan is filled with Norwegians. This is news?

Warren | January 17, 2008, 9:00am | #

I've been calling MO Hickland ever since I got here. So I got no problem with becoming Poland. Heck, I'd even support changing the flag to red and white. Scattered hitter and yon in our rolling hills, there is actually a sizable population of Polish descent. And besides, kielbasa!

Mass = Belgium? Really? Who knew the Belgiumians (Belgiumese?) were so industrious?

VM | January 17, 2008, 9:10am | #

Epi - that's Minnesota... :)

Marshall | January 17, 2008, 9:20am | #

I can live with being in Finland.

Episiarch | January 17, 2008, 9:24am | #

Epi - that's Minnesota... :)

There's a difference?

(ducks from safe haven in Greece)

VM | January 17, 2008, 9:26am | #

I think so - one the Chaezheads notice, the other hates Ohio... or something like that. :)

Or... if you're in one, you have to make the top bunk's bunk up. If you're in the other, top has to make bottom. John "OX" Candy explains it better...

John | January 17, 2008, 9:33am | #

Some of them really fit. If you replace Mexicans with Muslims, California and France are a pretty good fit; decent film industry, good climate, world renoun wine industry, insufferable socialist politics.

R C Dean | January 17, 2008, 9:47am | #

Help me out here; our company software blocks the site:

Texas?

John | January 17, 2008, 9:49am | #

Texas = Canada. RC

Pro Libertate | January 17, 2008, 9:53am | #

Tonight on "It's the Mind", we examine the phenomenon of déjà vu, that strange feeling we sometimes get that we've lived through something before.

R C Dean | January 17, 2008, 9:55am | #

Texas = Canada.

Ouch.

Cerro | January 17, 2008, 9:57am | #

Warren:

I can't tell if you're serious or not, but: Belgians?

Also, I've got the same problem as RC Dean. Which state does the U.K match with?

ClubMedSux | January 17, 2008, 9:57am | #

So Michigan is filled with Norwegians. This is news?

It also seems quite fitting that Illinois is Mexico (well, at least from the prospective of a Chicagoan originally from the Gage Park neighborhood; a downstate farmer might disagree).

Anybody else feel their state is accurately represented by the corresponding country? (I'm looking at you, Montana/Tunisia...)

VM | January 17, 2008, 10:01am | #

ProGLib - yah. and the PPP chart showing that even DC is "richer" than the rest of the world.

robc | January 17, 2008, 10:10am | #

Portugal. Hmmmm. Where is our (closed) Museum of Past Glory.

Yes I just stole a joke from The Onion.

dhex | January 17, 2008, 10:22am | #

born in russia, but living with the boys in brazil!

wooo!

wait, why i am so excited?

Pro Libertate | January 17, 2008, 10:24am | #

Tonight on "It's the Mind", we examine the phenomenon of déjà vu, that strange feeling we sometimes get that we've lived through something before.

VM | January 17, 2008, 10:26am | #

ProGLib - yah. and the PPP chart showing that even DC is "richer" than the rest of the world.

Mo | January 17, 2008, 10:33am | #

For rankings of states by per capita GDP. DC is rich baby.

Heathcliff | January 17, 2008, 10:49am | #

With the drop in the dollar, these estimates that are based on 2004 or 2005 exchange rates and GDP are completely wrong.

2006 values are a little better than this map but still wrong:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_between_U.S._states_and_countries_nominal_GDP

PPP is a much better estimate than GDP, but much harder to measure.

Pro Libertate | January 17, 2008, 10:55am | #

Tonight on "It's the Mind", we examine the phenomenon of déjà vu, that strange feeling we sometimes get that we've lived through something before.

Michael Palin | January 17, 2008, 10:56am | #

I cannot tell you how annoying that is,
Mr. Libertate.





I cannot tell you how annoying that is, Mr. Libertate.

agares | January 17, 2008, 11:20am | #

I wonder where our dreaded enemy, the North Koreans would rank.

Pro Libertate | January 17, 2008, 11:22am | #

Hmmm, one of the Aleutian Islands. Not a big one, either.

Sam Grove | January 17, 2008, 11:45am | #

Now if they could draw the map with the states sized to show population.

Javier | January 17, 2008, 12:46pm | #

I wonder where our dreaded enemy, the North Koreans would rank.

I think my neighborhood development would be named North Korea

de stijl | January 17, 2008, 1:04pm | #

I love strangemaps.com but this also looks pretty cool.

World Mapper

VM | January 17, 2008, 4:25pm | #

ProGLib - yah. and the PPP chart showing that even DC is "richer" than the rest of the world.

Pro Libertate | January 17, 2008, 5:03pm | #

Tonight on "It's the Mind", we examine the phenomenon of déjà vu, that strange feeling we sometimes get that we've lived through something before.

Jim Walsh | January 17, 2008, 11:15pm | #

The weather sure is lousy here in "Equador"...